Last week a friend of mine called to tell me he’d just seen La La Land. The movie knocked him out, and he urged me to see it. I didn’t need too much urging, since I’d already heard good stuff about it. So last night I went down to the Arclight to see what all the fuss was about.

I loved the movie. I was hooked from the opening sequence, a massive dance number in the middle of a freeway traffic jam. In fact, it started off so well I was afraid the makers wouldn’t be able to sustain that level of energy and creativity throughout. But I didn’t need to worry. Writer/director Damien Chazelle shows amazing skill and style. I was completely swept up in this archetypal Hollywood romance, and pulled into the lives of the struggling actress and the stubborn musician.

I was so completely involved that I was totally bummed when the film stopped abruptly and the theatre’s fire alarm started sounding. But we all got up and went outside. The courtyard was packed and it was freezing cold while we waited to see what would happen. Fortunately, the fire department showed up right away and resolved the problem quickly. (I never found out what triggered the alarm.) We were back inside within twenty minutes.

La La Land is a lovely fantasy about Los Angeles. While no one would mistake it for a realistic picture of this crazy town, it was good to see a movie that focussed on the positive rather than the negative. There’s plenty to hate in LA, but also plenty to love. Chazelle celebrates the city’s beauty and history without sliding into maudlin sentimentality. And while La La Land certainly doesn’t show the ugliest or scariest aspects of life in LA, it spends a fair amount of time delving into the downside. The two main characters are both struggling to get a break, and the film doesn’t shy away from their disappointment, frustration and bitterness. And while the movie features plenty of the shallow, superficial types that are often associated with LA, I liked the fact that it focussed on two people who are passionate about their art. Those people live here, too, even though we don’t see them on the screen too often.

I felt elated when I walked out of the theatre. The reality we’re living these days is so damn scary, it was good to see a movie that showed how joyous life can be. But going back home I passed through the real Hollywood. Walking down those streets on a cold December night it was clear that the divide between success and failure, wealth and poverty, is much wider, much more stark, than anything we see on the big screen. It’s great when you can settle down in a dark theatre and escape into a movie. But when the movie’s over, the world is still waiting for you outside.